Improvement in ripping-instruments



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'VILLIAM A. FITCH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN RIPPING-INSTRUMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,163, dated October 6, 1863.

To all whom it may concern..-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM A. FITCH, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented, made, and applied to use, a certain new and Improved Ripping Instrument; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part or" this specication, wherein- Figure l is a side View of my said rippinginstrument; and Fig. 2 is a sectional end View at the dotted line x Fig. 1.

The same parts are indicated by corresponding letters.

It often becomes necessary to rip garments apart, and in so doing the greatest care is required or the fabric will be cut, and under all circumstances the operation of ripping is slow and tedious. The present mode of ripping with a knife or scissors contrasts very unfavorably with the speed of sewing by machinery, and such ripping is rendered more difficult when the sewing is done by machinery than when done by hand, because the stitches gen. erally are closer together; hence the necessity for an instrument especially adapted to ripping.

The nature of my said invention consists in a tapering projection that separates the thicknesses of cloth when introduced between them, whether said thicknesses of cloth are in the form of a hem, fell, or iiat surface, and at the larger end of the projection is a cutter, that, by guiding 'the instrument, is brought into contact with the stitches to separa-te them 5 and I also form a second projectin g portion contiguous to the irst, with rounded edges, so that there is a mouth left between said parts intol which the seam to be ripped is introduced, where such sewing is on the edges of the fabric, and the edges of this jaw force the cloth back from the cutter so that nothing but the threads come in contact therewith.

In the drawings, a is the handle of my instrument, of any suitable character, formed with or connected to the same; b is the wider projection at the end, and c is the tapering separator, between which is the jaw d or mouth, and the edges of both c and b are rounded so as not to catch in or cut the cloth,

and the apex of the mouth only is sharpenedv to form acutter within the line e, Fig. 1.

It will now be seen that this instrument can be used to rip the seams, hems, Sto., of garments and fabrics generally, whatever form they maybe in, for said jaw presses the cloth itself out of the way ot' the cutter and only allows the threads extending from one portion of the fabric to the next to come in contact with such cutter.

What I `claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, in a ripping-instrument, is

The separator c and cutter e, substantially as set forth, and, in combination therewith, the projection b and mouth d, for the purposes and as specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 27th day of May, 1863.

WM. A. FITCH.

Witnesses:

LEMUEL W. SERRELL, GI-IAs. H. SMITH. 

